Birthplace of Ninjitsu
by libbzyol
Summary: Our favourite green ninja turtles are transported to Japan, where they meet an Elder called Yuzuro. If they want to find the people who sent them here, they will have to climb the third largest mountain in Japan and avoid being killed by the Foot. How hard can it be?
1. Meet Yuzuro

**Hey guys, so I recently wrote a story called the Middle of Nowhere which had a similar plot line to this, however I wanted to make a full story out of it but I couldn't so I had to delete it. Instead, I have replaced it with this story which has a more complex story line and the chance to add more chapters in the future. So, please R&R the first chapter of Birthplace of Ninjitsu and do not worry, there will be more chapters to come!**

_Black clad assassins  
wrapped in secrets and shadows.  
Silent and unseen._

_-Tandyman_

* * *

Raphael was the first to wake up of his brothers, who were still asleep on the floor. Raph got up, and looked at the change in scenery. As he gazed at his new surroundings, his jaw hit the ground in shock. "Oh shell." he exclaimed as he took in the scenery. "This ain't downtown New York." They had somehow landed on top of a mountain, in an ancient Kiname Temple, in the middle of nowhere. They were surrounded by snow covered mountains with Temples randomly dotted around the various mountains. Raph turned around to look behind him and a magnificent sight befell his vision. "Woah." Raph said as he stared at the giant mountain which towered over him. There were no Temples on that mountain, only a path which went right to the summit of the mountain and down the other side. _You'd be crazy to go on a walk up there! _Raph thought to himself as he looked around him. He gazed at the Temple in front of him which had been long abandoned. _Thank god it's abandoned. Something tells me that we would NOT be welcome here._ Realising his brothers were stirring behind him, he ran over to their side, where he found them gazing at the beautiful surroundings they know found themselves in. .

"From what I can see around me, and judging by the Kiname temples, mountains, and those symbols on that pillar over there, I'd say we are in the heart of Japan, the birthplace of Ninjitsu!" Don could not contain his excitement, for he had always wanted to go to Japan. It was where Ninjitsu was founded, created, and where Samurai's and Ninja's would roam, and train high up in the Japanese mountains, focusing on meditation and altitiude training. "But, how did we end up here?" Don asked, looking very puzzled and scratching his head

"I think I have a pretty good idea dude" Mikey piped up as he pushed himself up from the dirty floor he had found himself on. He brushed off the dirt from his shell and turned to look at his brothers.

"Enlighten us with your idea Mike" Raph joked sarcastically. This was a bad idea, because Donnie took this as a cue to whack Raph round the head with his bo staff. Raph snapped round and glared at Donnie. When Donnie shrugged and gave him a cheeky smile, he turned back to face Mikey and folded his arms. He was not in the mood for this.

"Thanks dude, Raph deserved that." Mikey winked at his older brother, who just huffed and glared back at Mikey. "Well, unless you guys have forgotten, we were fighting the Shredder in the TCRI building, and then Professor Honeycut told us to go onto the transmit so we could teleport back to the lair before the building exploded, but I think the controls broke and, well, it sent us to the heart of Japan." Mikey sighed "HOW AM I GONNA BUY THE LATEST EDITION OF THE JUSTICE FORCE COMICS NOW!" Mikey's sudden outburst caused Donnie to nearly jump out of his shell

"We will find a way to get home, but first, let's assess the situation" Leo spoke up, with a face deep in thought. "So, we are in the heart of Japan, in the middle of nowhere with no food, no water, no shelter, we have no way yet of getting back home and Mikey is on the brink of a panic attack about his Justice Force comic." Leo sighed. "The odds aren't good guys, but we can get through this. I promise. Mikey, we will get your Justice Force comic, and guys?" Leo asked. All three turtles looked up at Leo with a glimmer of hope. "We will get back, maybe not tomorrow, or this week, but we will get back to New York City. I mean we have our shell cells right?" Donnie, Raph, Leo and Mikey then all rummaged around in their belts, but couldn't find their shell cells.

"Oh, I forgot to mention" Mikey said, looking dismayed and lacking the optimism that characterised him. Leo glanced up at his baby brother "The Shredder crushed our shell cells." Mikey sighed, and sat back down onto the cold stone of the Kiname Temple.

"Well, we are screwed then." Raph muttered

"Bro, you could be right. You could be right" Leo replied, as he gazed at the beautiful surroundings he saw before him. Leo had been to Japan before, when he trained with the Ancient One, but this, where they were now, was completely different. _I don't see how we are gonna get out of this one. I've failed my brothers again, just when they needed me most. I'm a shit leader_. Donnie sensed Leo doubting himself and squeezed Leo's shoulder

"Everything will be okay bro, and it's not your fault we are here with almost zero chance of getting back. But Leo, notice how I said ALMOST zero chance. There is always hope. Come on. And, you will be pleased to know, I reckon I know exactly where we are in Japan. See that gigantic mountain over there? That's Mount Hotaka-Dake, the third tallest mountain in Japan!"

"How do you know Donnie?" Leo asked, looking a bit sceptical

"Because I've seen hundreds of pictures of it before, and I recognise it from the hundreds of pictures I studied last Summer! It's amazing don't you think? We are in Japan. JAPAN!" Donnie yelled. He really could not contain his excitement. Leo turned to face the Temple which they had first seen when they had awoken.

"I think we should go into this Kiname Temple and see if anyone is around, they may be able to help us. Remember what Professor Honeycut showed us? The utrom crashed nearly Hotaka-Dake, maybe we could find them and ask them to send us home if all else fails! The Japanese may know the Utrom; I mean it's worth a try right?" Leo inquired, gazing at his brothers, waiting for a response.

"You first Fearless, I don't really like being called a Guringoburin (Green Goblin) by the locals." Raph smiled and beckoned Leo to go in first. Leo slapped Raph round the back of the head, and led his brothers into the Temple. The Temple itself was in a very bad way. The roof had loads of holes in it and the Japanese humming birds had decided it would be the perfect place to use as their family toilet. Mikey grimaced as he walked past the pile of bird poo on the floor. They eventually came across some dark red doors which had fallen off their hinges. Leo nodded, and slowly the pushed open the doors which moaned and groaned heavily.

"These doors sure haven't been opened in a while." Don exclaimed as he brushed the cobwebs and dust from his hands. "Look! Over there!" Donnie whispered as he pointed to the back of the room. In the back, there were meditating cushions which hadn't been sat on for years and years. There were meditation candles scattered across the floor and ancient Japanese symbols were written into almost every pillar. But in the centre of the room, there was a Elderly Japanese man, meditating in complete silence. The turtles stopped dead in their tracks. The man had a long grey beard and shorter grey hair. He was wearing the ceremonial robes of the ancient Japanese samurai, and was obviously showing signs of his age, as Raphael spotted a walking stick and a comfortable chair in the back right hand corner of the room.

"What do we do Leo?" Don whispered to Leo

"I know a few words in Japanese but only hello and goodbye! How do we wake him and not give him a scare?" Leo replied in a hushed tone

"Leave it to me bros." Mikey pushed through Leo and Don and went to sit next to the Elder on a cushion that was placed next to the Elderly gentleman.

"Do we trust that bonehead? I mean common, it's Mikey we are talking about?" Raph whispered to Don and Leo.

"Raph, we have to trust him. This time. And if anything goes wrong there is only 1 Elder, we will be fine." Leo sighed and looked over at his younger brother. _Don't mess this up little bro._

"Kon'nichiwa kenmei 1, anata ga kiku koto ga dekirunara, watashi wa ōtō shite kudasai" Mikey said to the Elder, who opened his eyes and looked at Mikey. At first, Mikey was expecting a panic at the sight of a 'Guringoburin' in front of the Ninja's face, but the Elder looked at Mikey with calm eyes and nodded to him. Leo, Don and Raph exchanged worried looks.

"Mikey can speak fluent Japanese?" Don exclaimed "Since when?"

"He has been having lessons with Sensei for quite a long time Don, but we didn't learn it because we would never be leaving the city and we wouldn't need to know Japanese in great detail, but Mikey demanded to have lessons. You know what he is like, always up for a challenge." Leo smiled and directed his gaze back at Mikey and the Elder.

"Anata no namae wa nanidesu ka?" Mikey asked the Elder

"Watashinonamaeha Yuzuro wakai hitotsudeari, jibun no namae no kame wa nanidesu ka?"

"Michelangelo."

"Anata wa mangaichi Yuzuro ni yotte Utrom no o shitte imasu ka?"

"Mikeranjero wa i, watashi wa karera ga sumu dokoni ari, dare ga shitte iru tame ni okoru. Anata ga karera no shien o motomeru baai wa, Hotakadake yamakoete Hotakamaki no mura e idō shinakereba naranai. Anata ga soko ni tsuku toki dake wa Utrom o mitsukerudeshou. Ya Mikeranjero, ninja gādo sanmyaku no teppen ijō pasu, oyobi Nihon no futtokuran mo habikotte iru. Shinchō ni, wakai kame naru."

Mikey then bowed and notioned for his brothers to exit the Temple. "I will explain in a second" He muttered quietly to his brothers, and turned back to Yuzuro "Yuzuro sayōnara, watashi wa anata ga futatabi masutā mite hoshī."

"Soshite, Mikeranjero no musuko. Watashi wa kokoro no naka de anata to issho ni narimasu. Sayōnara wakai kame." The Elder replied, and waved the brothers on their way. Once Mikey and his brothers had left the Temple, Yuzuro closed his eyes and began to sink back into the deep meditation state he was in until he was disturbed.

"So Mikey, what the shell was all that about?! And when did you learn fluent Japanese?" Raph demanded, whacking Mikey on the back of the head

"Mā kihontekini wa kare ga ita - to itta-"

"Umm Mikey, you are still talking in Japanese bro." Leo cut Mikey off and pointed out to him that he was still speaking Japanese.

"Oh right sorry dudes; it takes a while for the mind to adjust to different languages. Anyway, his name was Yuzuro and he knew of the Utroms. He told me that they dwell in a village not far from here called Hotakamaki. Bad news is we have to climb over the Hotaka-Dake to get to Hotakamaki. Also, now we are in Japan, the Foot Clan are very rife in Japan and guard the pass, because they know the Utrom dwell in Hotakamaki. These Foot Ninja are far more advanced than the weaklings we know and loathe in New York City, and are far more stealthy. We have to be on our guard dudes." Mikey explained to his brothers, who were stood in absolute shock at what they had just heard

"So Mikey, you are telling me that to get home we have to climb the third tallest mountain in Japan which is guarded by highly advanced Foot Ninja, just to see an Utrom?" Leo asked

"Yep." Mikey replied

"Okay well let's get a move on then, we have a huge obstacle to climb." Leo exclaimed and pointed to the giant mountain and the pathway which ran up the mountain.

"OUCH god dammit." Mikey exclaimed, as his three brothers turned around to face him. Mikey felt a prick in his neck and he ran his hand along his neck. His eyes widened as he came across a red and black dart which was sticking out the side of his neck. What was even more surprising was that it had the Foot insignia engraved into the wood of the dart. Suddenly, as Mikey succombed to whatever chemical was in the dart, the World began to spin and Mikey felt very hot. The colours all warped into one.

"Yo guys, I don't feel too hot." Mikey muttered and he swayed until he fell in the waiting arms of Raphael.

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**CLIFFHANGER! Do not fear, chapter 2 will be coming soon!**

**-libbzyol**


	2. Onwards and Upwards

**And here is chapter 2! I hope everyone who has seen it enjoyed the first chapter:)**

**Peace**

**-libbzyol**

* * *

"Mikey? Mikey!" Raph shouted at Michelangelo, who was not responding at all.

"Donnie is he" Leo started to ask as he watched in horror

Donnie picked up the dart and gave it a sniff. "Etorphine Hydrocholride! Or, better known as M-99!" Donnie exclaimed

"What the shell you going on about Einstein, I don't understand geek!" Raph yelled to Donnie, who was deep in thought

"Its a tranquilizer dart specifically for animals, and the anesthesia is very strong. So strong in fact that M-99 could kill a grown adult human in a few minutes if there is no antidote administered! But, luckily for us, we aren't humans. This should keep Mikey knocked out for a good 24 hours."

"Whoever did that, come and face us in fair combat!" Leo screamed to the sky, but no-one came forth. "It can only have been the Foot. All of the Foot across the country know about our existence, I mean we are giant walking turtles, our description definitely fits across all catagories." Leo said, and then stared at Mikey, who had been laid down on a nearby rock.

"Come on Leo, we have to start moving, we don't have all day, and we do not want to be on top of Mount Hotaka-Dake at night. It's a deathwish!" Don exclaimed, as he pulled his unconscious brother up from the rock. He put Mikey's left arm over his shoulder and Leo put Mikey's right arm over his shoulder

Just as they were about to leave they heard footsteps behind them, and as they slowly turned around they saw Yuzuro running towards them with some sort of stick in his hand.

"Great, how are we supposed to tell Yuzuro we don't speak Japanese?" Raph asked, and with a grunt sat down on the wall next to him

"Kame? Koko de nani ga okotta no ka?" Yuzuro asked the turtles who stared at him blankly. "Oh I see, you do not speak Japanese. I thought you would have done because of your brother." The expression on the turtles faces went from confused to shocked as Yuzuro began talking to them, perfectly calmly, in amazing English.

"Umm, okay, Yuzuro, Mikey has been hit with M-99, if you must know." Raph gruffly spoke and promptly folded his arms.

"Here." Yuzuro sighed and went towards Mikey. He then placed two lightbulbs on the turtles plastron, and ran his flaming gloves over Mikey's body.

"What are you doing dude? You are hurting him!" Raph shouted with an alarmed tone, and as he ran towards Yuzuro and Mikey Leo put his hand across Raph's plastron, causing him to nearly go head over heels down the steep steps of the mountain. Raph was about to speak but Leo shook his head and put a finger to Raph's lips. Raph swatted Leo's finger away like it was a fly, and went back to gazing at Yuzuro and Mikey

"And, finished. He should come around in about 10 minutes. I wish for you to have a safe and fruitful journey to Hotakamaki Kame Ninja." Yuzuro then bowed, and headed back inside the Kiname Temple. The brothers looked at each other. Everything had happened so fast they were still trying to take in what just happened. As they were deep in their thoughts, it took them a while to realise that Michelangelo was stirring

"Guys? Why am I on the FLOOR? EWWWWW IT'S SO DIRTY AGGGHHH" Mikey screeched and jumped straight up off the dusty old path.

"Ahhh Mikey, thank god you are alright." Leo exclaimed and ran over to Mikey and gave him a big hug.

"What happened? Why was I on that disgusting floor?" Mikey asked, staring in disgust at the dust floor he was just lying on

"We will explain on the way, it's a long way up that mountain and we will have plenty of time to kill." Raph replied, and grabbed the tails of Mikeys bandana, pulling Mikey along behind him "Come on knucklehead, I don't like hearing about how dirty the floor was for you." With that, the brothers began the intense trek up the mountain

2 hours later

"Uggh, are we there yet?" Mikey asked, pushing himself off the stair rail to give himself some momentum to get up the torturous steps

"Mikey for the THOUSANDTH TIME WE ARE NOT THERE YET!" Raph bellowed in Mikey's ear as a wave of rage came across his face. "Jesus if the stairs don't kill me first then Mikey's annoying remarks and questions every 5 minutes will."

"Umm Raph, I don't think either of those things will kill you first" Donnie whispered. The colour had suddenly drained from his face and he looked very scared and was looking over Raphs shoulder

"Donnie what are you talking abo- oh crap." Raph muttered as he followed Donnie's gaze to at least 50 Foot Ninja coming towards them.

"Is it too late to run back down the mountain? Catch me if you can" Mikey shouted as he began to run down the mountain, but Leo grabbed his bandana tails and pulled him back

"We are not in flight mode we are in fight mode Mikey. We have to get to Hotakamaki and this is the only way to get there." Leo hissed

"Well, it looks like we are surrounded" Donnie stated as he looked around him. He had his back against his three other brothers and was pulling his bo staff out of the holster on his back

"Thanks for that useful information Captain State The Obvious" Raph smirked as he was twirling his Sai's.

"Here's the plan. We fight hard, defeat the Ninja and trail off the path into those rocks up there. We find a cave, take shelter and prepare for the long journey we have tomorrow. But right now, its time to give them a taste of New York City Ninjitsu!" Leo shouted as he pulled out his duel Katana's and ran into a sea of black clad Ninja. One of the Ninja made a punch at Leo but Leo skidded under the Ninja's open legs, which caused a domino effect of about 15 Ninja who Leo crashed into. The Ninja who made the punch at Leo ended up punching his team-mate, before they both fell to their knees unconscious

"I give it 10!" Mikey shouted above the uproar, and Raph, Don and Mikey held up 6 fingers. Leo face-palmed, and Raph Don and Mikey wondered why, until they realised they had only raised 6 fingers.

"Come on Leo, it's not like I can give you anymore! Unless you want me to get my feet out" Raph threatened as he split kicked three Ninja's to the ground

Mikey grimaced "Raphael Hamato now is NOT the time to show off your purple foot fungus!" Mikey shouted, and gagged at the thought of Raphael's feet. Raph had made him scrape the dead skin off his feet before, and Mikey had thrown up three times because of it. Mikey shuddered as he reminisced on that awful night.

"Michelangelo!" Leo shouted from across the path. Mikey reacted instantly and punched the Ninja's lights out. Leo looked over to Mikey who gave him the thumbs up, but then Mikey started to stare in shock at his thumb. He had a massive blister on the top of his thumb for some unknown reason and it looked disgusting. As Mikey was distracted by the growth on his thumb, he did not see the group of Ninja running his way.

"AHHHH!" Mikey screamed as he was kicked so hard he flew across the path to a rocky area on the other side of the path. "SHELL!" Mikey screamed in pain as the rocks pierced any skin that he had exposed.

"MIKEY! ARE YOU OKAY BRO?" Raph shouted from about 150m in front of Mikey "MIKEY ANSWER ME CHEESEBALL!

"Yeah Raph I'm fine, chill out, you have more pressing things to worry about." Mikey replied and pointed to a ninja who nearly clobbered Raph with his own Sai. Raph smiled at Mikey, gave him a wink and dived straight back into battle

"I hate mountains, its decided." Mikey muttered to himself as he tried to slowly pull himself to his feet, but the deep cuts on his back and legs stopped him from doing so. "Maybe I should sit this one out." Mikey said to himself, and moved himself away from the pointy rocks onto a grassier turf. But as soon as he sat down and got comfortable, he looked up to find all the Foot Ninja on the floor, either lying still or groaning in pain. His brothers, careful not to tread on any fallen Ninja came over to Mikey, who was still in shock at how quickly the Foot Ninja had been taken out

"Mikey, you have some really bad lacerations to your shoulder, back of your head and your legs. Stay there, I'll grab some antiseptic, but I cannot cover them because I left my duffel bag back at the TCRI building. We will just have to be really careful that your cuts don't get infected and" Don began to say when he saw Mikey had his hand up in the air like he was at school. "Yes Mikey, what is your question." Don said sarcastically

Mikey put his hand down with such force it made him grunt in pain. "Gah, damn it. No, Donnie I have just had the most amazingly brilliant idea dude! Use the Foot Ninja clothing as bandages!" Mikey exclaimed excitedly, as his ideas were normally stupid and silly, but not this one.

Don looked surprised at Mikey, but then realised how good of an idea it was "Great idea Mikey! You're a genius!" Don exclaimed as he began ripping the clothes of the Foot Ninja and making them into bandages. "Sorry dude, you're going to be a little cold" Don grinned

"Geez Donnie I know Mike had a good idea but he is far from a genius. I mean look at him, he once thought mayonnaise was made of snow." Raph laughed at Mikey, remembering how hilarious it was when Mikey said that. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain go through his head. He turned around to see Leo standing there with a cheeky grin on his face. "Did you just HIT ME FEARLESS?" Raph yelled

"Yep I did hothead, under Mikey's instruction of course, seeing as he cannot reach for himself." Leo winked at Mikey who smiled. Mikey then suddenly winced as Don was wrapping Mikey's bandages. Leo glanced up to the rocky caves about 15ft above the turtles. "Guys, lets rest in that cave up there, I will go get water, Raph, you go get wood for the fire and kill us maybe a rabbit or something. Don, you help Mikey up there." Leo demanded. When Leo had a plan, no-one questioned it, and immediately the turtles began their assigned jobs.

"Wait, Leo." Mikey said as Leo began to walk towards the waterfall he had heard when Mikey was complaining about his legs hurting. He turned back to face his youngest brother. "How are you going to collect water dude? You can't exactly collect it in your hands?" Mikey asked, with a very puzzled look on his face. He then noticed that Leo was holding a medium sized bucket in his right hand. Leo held it up and pointed at it, and with that Mikey nodded. Leo mimed whacking Mikey round the head with the bucket, and walked off into the distance to find the waterfall, while Donnie and Mikey made their way up to the cave.

"Would now be a bad time to say I hate caves? They give me nightmares." Mikey whispered. Donnie face palmed and shook his head. _This is going to be a loooonnnggg night. _He thought to himself as he entered the cave. _A very long night._


	3. Cave of Nightmares

**Hey guys! So here is chapter 3 for everyone to enjoy! Thank you for your continuing support!**

**-libbzyol**

* * *

"Have a drink guys, with all that climbing this afternoon you will need to rehydrate" Donnie articulated as Leo walked in with a troth full of water. Leo set the troth down onto the hard floor of their makeshift home, and went to go sit by the fire, where 4 rabbits were being cooked just above the flames. He smiled as he watched the orange and yellow flames dance around the fire pit. Leo poked the fire with a stick as he touched the Rabbits with his fingers. He nearly yelped in pain as his finger touched the burning hot Rabbit.

"Guys? Dinner is cooked and ready!" Leo shouted to the others, who by now had their faces completely submerged in the pure and clean water Leo had found at the nearby Waterfall. He shook his head and removed the Rabbits from the spit they were mounted on.

"What's for dinner tonight chef Leo, seeing as for the first time in months I didn't do the cooking!" Mikey asked as he stumbled over to the fire, dripping wet from where he had submerged nearly up to his shoulders in the troth of water. "I half expect to get food poisoning and be violently sick, but whatever, those Rabbit are food and Mikey's stomach is demanding food. Budge up Raph" Mikey exclaimed as he nudged Raph aside and began to dig into his Rabbit. The others swiftly followed suit and were soon full up.

"Man Leo, that was some good rabbit." Raph smirked, holding his belly. He was about to burst he was so full!

"Well, you did catch it bro. Credit for the excellent hunting of these delicious rabbits bro" Leo replied with a smile on his face.

"Man." Mikey groaned, lying on his back with his head being cradled by his hands. "I could sleep for an eternity!" Mikey exclaimed and shut his eyes. Within a few seconds, his brothers turned to face Mikey and saw that he was in a very deep sleep. Donnie smiled and threw a blanket over his sleeping little brother. He then chucked blankets at the others who swiftly laid the blankets out over themselves and lay down on the floor

"Guys, Mikey is most likely to have a nightmare in this setting, so whoever he wakes up, just try ot be considerate of the rest of us okay? You guys know the drill." Leo articulated, and immediately fell asleep. Raph smiled to himself as he shut his eyes, and Donnie had fallen asleep as soon as his head had hit the pillow

_Michelangelo..._

_"Whaat? Who said that?" I shrieked as I looked around. Huh? I was in the cave that my bros and I had found earlier? "SHELL!" Where are my bros! I desperately began upturning rock after rock searching for my bros, when I heard that god awful voice again_

_Michelangelo..._

_"WHO SAID THAT HUH? SHOW YOURSELF YOU COWARD! IF THIS IS SOME SORT OF PRANK RAPH THEN IT ISN'T FUNNY!" I screamed amongst the darkness. I could barely see in front of my own face, because the fire had dimmed to such a low light. "Raph? Donnie? Leo? Come on guys this isn't funny! Guys?" I was becoming more and more agitated at the fact it was dark and I had no idea what was going on, until my eyes widened in fear. There, at the entrance to the cave stood a Japanese Elite Foot Ninja, who was then closely followed by about 7 other Foot Ninja. I felt something touch my arm and I turned in surprise to find that two Foot Ninja had grabbed my arms and were holding me in place. I looked up at the ceiling of the cave and saw the Elite Foot Ninja coming towards me with his Katana ready to strike a death blow_

_"Oh God, tell the guys I love them, please! I'm so dead," I began to talk to myself as the Foot Ninja edged ever closer_

"Mikey? Come on bro, Mikey wake up for me you are having a nightmare! Mikey?" Donnie shouted at Mikey, as he was furiously shaking him trying to wake him up. "LEO RAPH MIKEY ISN'T WAKING UP! HOW ABOUT A LITTLE HELP HERE!" Donnie yelled over to his brothers who sat bolt upright in bed and ran straight over to Mikey

"Mikey? Mikey please bro! Stop being a sissy!" Raph and Leo both shouted, placing their hands on Mikey's plastron

_"Mikey, Mikey! Wake up! You are having a nightmare!" I heard a voice shout. _

_"Guys is that you?" I asked to the thin air, hoping for a reply, but no answer came_

_"HELP ME!" I screamed with a deafening scream, but still no-one came to help me_

_"No, No, No, NOOOOOO!" I screamed as the Foot Ninja lashed out at my face_

"NOOOOO!" Mikey screamed as he awoke with a sudden movement and shot up bolt upright to face his brothers. As soon as he saw his brothers were okay he collapsed into the strong hands of Leonardo, and cried into Leo's arms. He hugged up against Leo's plastron, never wanting to let him go

"Mikey its alright bro, it was just a nightmare okay? Deep breaths dude." Leo muttered softly as he tried to calm Mikey down. Raph walked over and placed a comforting hand on Mikey's shoulder, to which Mikey stared straight up at Raph with tearful crystal blue eyes. He smiled at Raph and started to pack up his things into a small bag

"So bro you okay?" Raph asked, with a little hint of concern still written on his face

"Yeah dude, I'm fine. I guess I just don't fare well in creepy settings in the dead of night. I'm fine, but I would like to get out of this creepy cave from creepsville as quickly as possible" Mikey replied and hoisted a small blanket onto his back. Leo nodded at Mikey and Mikey quickly sped out of the cave and jumped down onto the familiar path he was walking on yesterday.

"So Donnie" Raph verbalized as Donnie jumped down from the cave "How far are we from the summit of Hotaka-Dake? In metres preferably!" Raph inquired, staring blankly at the massive mountain ahead of them

"I'd say we are about 1000m from the top. Don't worry, it shouldn't take us long to reach the summit." Donnie smiled and began to lead the way for the rest of the turtles.

"Once we get to the top we can have a rest, rehydrate, maybe have a little left over rabbit and then get moving down to the village. I don't want to stop in such a high place for too long, because of the Foot. If we got ambushed up there" Leo paused, looking at his brothers and gulping back his fear "We would be screwed." He finished and began to start walking. "Oh and Raph?" Raphael turned to face his brother "Do me a favour and keep your cool? I know Mikey can get annoying but a simple sparring match up at this altitude and height could prove fatal." Raph nodded and glared at Mikey before walking past him. What none of them realised was that the altitude was going to hit them, and hit them hard very soon.


	4. Altitude Sickness

**Hey guys! I'm so sorry this took so long to write, and how its a really small chapter. I have been really busy these past few days and haven't had a chance to write. But, I hope you enjoy chapter 4!**

**-libbzyol**

* * *

As they begun their ascent up the mountain, Michelangelo was the first of the four brothers to start coming down with symptoms of altitude sickness. His head began to pound about half way up the mountain, which left him wondering if any of his brothers were beginning to suffer from the altitude.

"I can't possibly tell Don how awful I am feeling right now, because he will get all worried and tell us to stop and examine me." Mikey muttered to himself as he began to trail behind from the rest of his brothers. "I'll just have to pretend nothing is wrong and convince them I am fine! That shouldn't be too hard, after all, I am the twin brother of Tom Cruise." Mikey giggled to himself and a big wide smile appeared across his face _Yeah, this shouldn't be too hard. _With that, Mikey sprinted back up to his brothers, who hadn't even noticed he was gone. They turned round and smiled at Mikey, and Mikey smiled back with a beaming smile that would lighten up any room. As soon as his brothers had turned back around again, Mikey's beaming smile slipped off his face and was replaced by a large frown. He stared down at his feet and continued walking, trying to ignore his massive headache and his tingling lips.

"You will be pleased to know, we are about 1700m from the top of the mountain! Shouldn't take us too much longer to reach the top!" Don yelled from the front of the pack as he picked up the pace and sped ahead. Donnie had never really ever been affected by altitude so he was always the one to look after Mikey when he got sick back when they were all about 10 years old. They had gone out onto the mountains without Master Splinters permission, and you could say that karma was really coming back to bite the young turtles on the bum. Donnie smiled to himself as he remembered the flashback

_"Donnie, I really don't feel well!" Mikey yelled as his legs gave way from underneath him, and he ended up lying flat on his shell, not wanting to move for a eternity. He had already thrown up as they were walking, but he covered it up so well because he didn't want his brothers fussing over him. Now however, he could not take the symptoms he was experiencing and he finally admitted to Donnie that he wasn't feeling very well._

_"Dammit Mikey why didn't you tell me!" Don shouted as his little legs carried him as fast as they could towards his fallen brother. Once he got to Mikey, he was starting to get very bad symptoms of altitude sickness. "Gah, come on bro, we cannot stay up here forever, we need to get you down to a lower altitude and fast!" Don grunted as he pulled Mikey onto his back. He then raced down the mountain as quickly as possible, only to be welcomed back by an angry Master Splinter._

_"Sensei?" questioned Mikey as he was carried into the Ancient One's house and laid down in a cot. "Oh shell, we are doomed Donnie bear." Mikey whispered to Donnie and they both nodded in agreement. Whatever punishment they might get, they were in this together._

"Maybe I should check on Mikey and the guys to see how they are holding up. It's getting pretty high up now." Don muttered to himself as he turned hot on his heels and power walked back down to where the rest of his family were.

"Look who's just decided to join us, Mr Speedy Gonzales!" Raph sarcastically said to Donnie, as Donnie brushed right past him. It was obvious that Raph was totally fine, because if he wasn't he would have made sure everyone knew he was feeling unwell. Donnie went over to Leo who was resting ona large rock on the edge of the cobbled path the turtles now called their home.

"Bro, it's important, are you feeling okay?" Don uttered to Leo, who was now staring blankly into space. He snapped out of it immediately and stared back at Don, who had concern etched onto his face

"I have a small headache and I don't want to eat anything, but don't worry Don, I know its altititude sickness, but luckily for the rest of you the worst my symptoms get to is a larger headache and feeling tired. Don't worry Don I can push on." Leo replied and squeezed Dons shoulder, to which Don replied with a nod. "Although Donnie, I think you should be more worried about Mikey than me. He hasn't said a word in the last 2 hours and he's been lagging behind the rest of us a bit." Leo stated as he slowly pushed himself up from the large rock. Raph then walked over and implied for Leo to use him as a human crutch until Leo had completely regained his balance. Leo eagerly complied and rested heavily on Raph, nearly knocking him over.

"Jesus Fearless you are acting like you are drunk." Raph muttered into Leo's ear, to which Leo silently laughed at Raph, before turning his attention to Mikey. Raph nodded, and they together made their way over to where Mikey was sat, and to where Don was crouching beside Mikey.

"How about you Mikey? I know you suffer from the sickness, and we are higher than you have ever been before in your life. Don't be afraid of me fussing Mikey, I just need to know." Don asked, as he placed his hands on Mikey's shoulder. Mikey looked up from the floor to stare at Don with those crystal blue eyes he was known for.

"Okay" Mikey replied, his voice strained and hoarse. "But if I do tell you, you are not allowed to fuss over me or anything, just do what you need to do. Okay?" Mikey asked Don, to which Don gave him a firm nod. "Well, I've been sick, I have had this pain in my head like angry gnomes are trying to force their way out of my head." Mikey paused, rubbing the stabbing feeling in his head. "I also feel pretty dizzy, my lips are tingling so much and quite honestly, I'm not hungry at all." Mikey continued, looking back down at his feet. "Also, I'm pretty breathless exercising and non exercising and walking is like running a fucking marathon 3x!" Mikey broke into a yell as he stared into Dons eyes. Leo and Raph gasped in shock to hear their youngest brother cussing and stared at each other with disbelief. Mikey then put his head in his hands and started to shake his head. "I just didn't want to let you guys down." Mikey muttered into his hands as Don gently felt for Mikeys pulse in his wrist.

Don sighed and gently placed Mikeys wrist back down in his lap. "Mikey's developing severe altitude sickness symptoms. I'm worried about him. At this rate, he could develop a cerebral oedema or pulmonary oedema. Truthfully, he needs to get down off this mountain and fast." Don articulated and watched Raph and Leo's faces fall as they came to realise the harsh truth.

"How much more ascending do we have to do to get to the top of the dake Don?" Leo asked. He was obviously worrying and concerned, as there was worry etched on his face and his voice was slightly shaky. He stared straight through Don as his mind wondered to other thoughts.

"About 500m." Don replied, as he sat down on the cobbled path and shook his head.

"So what are we gonna do Fearless?" Raph inquired as he looked at his youngest brother who was now lying down on the cobbled path.

"I don't know Raph. I just don't know." Leo replied and he gazed off into the distance at the village of Hotakamaki, their destianation. "I just don't know." Leo whispered to himself as he sat down with his brothers, cradling Mikey in his arms.


	5. Fear and Family

**And here we are, chapter 5! Sorry its been late getting out, I have been having such bad writers block! Anyway, enjoy! :)**

**-libbzyol**

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"Leo how's Mikey doing?" Raph yelled from the front of the pack as they continued their trek up the mountain.

"Not good, but he is still standing bro." Leo replied with a hint of concern in his voice. He turned his head to face his little brothers, who was leaning heavily against Leo. Mikey then stared back at Leo and gave him a weak smile, before he turned back to look at the ground. Leo realised he was trying to stop himself from throwing up, which became more apparent as he started rubbing the backs of his ears

"And what about you Leo? How you feelin? And no lying dude, I need to know your exact symptoms!" Donnie glared at Leo. He knew that Leo would never tell anyone just how sick, or how hurt he was, because it's the leader's job to stay strong. Leo took it a bit far though, as Don remembered when one minute he was treating Leo for a simple cold, the next minute it was laryngitis. Don sighed and stared into Leo's eyes, and Leo knew he had to tell the truth.

"Okay so I feel quite sick and have an intense headache, but I'm more worried about Mikey than myself. He's in a worse state than me." Leo sighed and glanced at Raph, who had now stopped moving quite as fast to listen to his brother's conversation.

"I think we should rest for about 10 minutes. Then, we will only have 100m left to climb before we can start our descent down the mountain." Don declared, and he slowly lowered Mikey to a sitting position on the ground, and he was closely followed by Leo, who with his shell against the brick wall, slid down and landed on the floor. Raph then turned hot on his heels back to the top of the mountain, where his gaze froze for at least a minute. Don left Mikey and Leo's side to go see what was up with Raph, when he too gasped at the sight he saw from following Raph gaze. Leo looked up in curiosity, but Mikey didn't even flinch at the gasp. He just sat gazing at the opposite side of the path.

"G-guys?" Leo questioned as he slowly got to his feet and walked over to them. "What's up?" Leo asked as he too followed the gaze of his younger brothers. There, at the top of the mountain, was a massive Foot HQ, balancing precariously on top of Hotaka-Dake. It was swarming with at least 500 Foot Ninja, who were training with advanced methods and their battle cries could be heard very clearly as they pierced through the silence of the surroundings.

"Fuck." Raph muttered as he snapped out of his mini trance. Leo then placed his hand on Raph's shell and gave him a small smile

"I think our best option here is to be stealthy and try and sneak past the ninja's." Leo observed, trying his hardest to ignore the pain that threatened to bring him onto his knees. "We sneak around the back of the temple and out the other side and run as fast as we can down part of the mountain. If we find some sort of cave on the way, we can stop in there. Got it?" Leo looked round at his two brothers who slowly nodded. They did not like this idea, but they had to go along with it. After all, Mikey and Leo were not in a condition to fight, let alone fight 500 odd Foot Ninja. Don slowly turned around and walked over to Mikey to tell him the plan.

"Mikey, come on bro lets-"Suddenly Don cut off as his face changed emotion almost immediately. "MIKEY?!" Don screamed as he ran over to his little brother. Mikey had his eyes tightly shut, and was convulsing so hard he had hit his head several times on the stone hard floor. Leo and Raph snapped around and nearly froze at the sight of Mikey shaking so violently

"MIKE!" They both called out as they ran to Mikey's side. Don was desperately trying to cradle Mikey's head to stop him from doing damage to himself, meanwhile Leo had got Mikey's airways clear and Raph had put him in a recovery position. As Mikey eventually stopped convulsing and his body relaxed, a great sigh of relief was let out from the three brothers. It had been a scary moment, but the worst was behind them now.

"I should have never left him alone." Leo uttered as he stared straight at his baby brothers face. "I'm supposed to be protecting you guys and look what I helped cause." Leo sighed and put his hand on Mikey's plastron. "I'm sorry bro, this is all my fault." Leo then felt a soft hand on his shoulder, to which he jumped and spun around, to find his hothead brother smiling at him with a very comforting and forgiving smile.

"Leo, it wasn't your fault. No-one could have known Mikey would, have a seizure. You couldn't have known." Raph stated as he patted Leo's shell. "Come on, we need to get past those Foot Ninja, without any more calamities." Raph sighed as he motioned towards the Foot HQ.

"Leo, how about you carry Mikey through to the other side. That way you will be protecting him and you won't be leaving him." Donnie suggested as they edged closer to the Foot Ninja who were guarding the door of the temple. He then gently took Mikey off of his shoulders and passed him to Leo. Leo nodded with satisfaction and hoisted Mikey onto his back. Then, he silently darted off into the shadows, and made it around the back of the Temple. He then sat Mikey down next to him once they were a safe distance away from the Temple, and stared back at where he just came from.

_I'm such an idiot. I cannot believe I left Michelangelo alone for one second in the state he is in! Why did Master Splinter make me a leader? I have done nothing but fail my brothers since we were toddlers. I'm such a failure, I'm such a-_

Leo was interrupted from his thoughts as he felt Mikey's body twitch in his arms. He looked down to see that Mikey was having another convulsion. Leo reacted with lightning quick reflexes and laid Mikey down flat. He then cleared Mikey's airways, lay him in the recovery position and cradled his head.

"Mikey?" Leo asked as he felt the convulsions cease after a tense 30 seconds. Mikey's eyes then fluttered open and immediately set their gaze on Leo. He seemed dazed and confused, but his eyes lacked that spark that they always had. Instead of being a crystal blue, they were slightly grey and dull.

"L-l-Leo?" Mikey replied as he looked around him. He then realised that Don and Raph were not with him and he began to thrash again, this time in panic. "LEO WHERE ARE DONNIE AND RAPHIE!" Mikey yelled as he began to panic more, but Leo rubbed the back of his shell and he slowly relaxed into Leo's firm grip. "Where are they Leo?" Mikey asked again, as he held his head. Leo was about to reply when Mikey let out a gasp of pain and his panic stricken eyes set straight at Leo. He then leaned his head to the side and begun violently retching. Leo's heart melted when he saw his baby bro in that much pain and he gently rubbed the back of Mikey's shell in an attempt to calm him down.

"Let it out Mikey, let it out." Leo soothed as Mikey finished vomiting. Mikey then turned back to face Leo and Leo noticed the look of confusion on his face. Leo understood and explained everything that had happened since Mikey had passed out

"And that's why Don and Raph aren't here yet." Leo finished. Suddenly he realised that they had been gone an awful long time. He heard a gut wrenching scream and the sound of metal clashing with metal coming from inside of the Temple. Leo stood up with such a force that it knocked Mikey over onto his back, to which Mikey responded by laying there with a dazed look on his face. He was obviously out of it and had barely reacted to what had just happened, because it happened so quickly. Leo then looked at Mikey, then back towards the sounds of metal upon metal, and skin upon bone. He had a decision to make. Should he leave Mikey alone and go to help his brothers? Or should he pray that they come out of the Temple alive and stay with Mikey.

"Shell." He muttered as he tried to make up his mind. He looked from Mikey to the battle, and from the battle. He then bolted up, like a flash of electricity, and began walking.

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**So what has Leo chosen to do? Stay with Mikey or go help his brothers in the Temple? Watch this space to find out what he does! :)**


	6. Dazed and Confused

**Hey everyone! As to make up for my slow release of the previous chapter, I decided to release the next chapter of the story the same day as chapter 5! Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT,however I do own Yuzuro in this particular story. Wow, I actually own something :)**

**-libbzyol**

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_Am I being lifted off the ground? Holy shell, I feel like I'm flying! Although all I can see are swirling bright colours and beams of light from the sky. Wait,I can feel someone gripping me? What the shell is going on. _

Leo felt Mikey moan as he lifted Mikey onto his back, and they both headed back towards the Temple. He knew Mikey was in his own world, unresponsive, and totally out of it, so he could not fight. Leo had to keep Mikey with him; for he feared the worst if he didn't have a constant eye on Mikey. Leo rushed towards the stone heavy doors of the Temple and busted through them. He nearly dropped Mikey because of the shock he got. He saw a black sea of unconscious Foot Ninja, and some quiet groaning seemed to be emitting from the black sea of Foot Ninja on the floor. Leo looked up to his brothers. Raph was swirling his Sai with gritted teeth and Donnie was triumphantly smiling as he spun his bo staff between his fingers. However, something wasn't right. There was no way his brothers could have defeated that many Ninja, so how did they do it? Leo looked puzzled as he scanned the room, but as he took a second look at his brothers, he saw Yuzuro emerge from behind them. Yuzuro had twin Katana in his hands and he was brushing them together, making that metal against metal sound Leo had heard earlier. As soon as Raph and Don acknowledged Leo standing in the doorway, they smiled and walked over to him and Mikey. Don took Mikey from Leo's shoulders and brought him in front of Yuzuro, who was by now sitting in a meditation position, staring straight at Mikey's crystal blue eyes.

"Yuzuro?" Leo asked. He begun to think he was more dazed than Mikey was, as he hadn't even noticed that he was being led towards Yuzuro, and that Mikey was now laying right in front of Yuzuro.

"Kame Leonardo. Konichiwa." Yuzuro bowed and motioned for Raph to lead Leo to a cushion next to Yuzuro.

"Yuzuro, what the shell just happened?" Leo quizzically asked, as he stared once again at the hundreds of unconscious Foot Ninja. Yuzuro didn't respond to Leo, but continued to stare straight into the cloudy eyes of Michelangelo.

"Bro, Yuzuro has a way of channelling chi. He defeated all these Foot Ninja with three Dragon Ball Fury Chi moves. You should've seen it. His hands lit up in pinks and purples and lilacs and he launched this swirling ball of colour at the Foot! The next thing we knew, a third of the Foot had been knocked unconscious. Yuzuro is more than we thought he was bro." Raph explained to Leo, who couldn't believe what he had just heard

_Was it true? Was Yuzuro really a Ninjitsu Master? Only a select few could ever manage that move, how?_

"Leo!" Donnie yelled into Leo's ear, making him immediately snap out of his thought train and back into the real world. "Yuzuro is trying to connect with Mikey, try and make his symptoms go away, although being dazed isn't a symptom of altitidue sickness, Yuzuro is trying to heal Mikey for the time being. Sounds crazy I know." Don smirked and winked at Leo, who beamed back at him. No longer was Leo feeling confused. He was now totally up to beat with the situation, and immediately snapped out of this dazed and confused state he had been in for the past 10 minutes.

"I have a plan." Leo smirked as his brothers faces lit up. "Lets lock these Foot Ninja in the Dojo over there. We can bunk here for the night, and tomorrow, we can make our descent down this god-forsaken mountain!" Leo exclaimed. "Plus" Leo brought his voice down to a whisper "I think it will be best to leave Yuzuro and Mikey alone. They need some time." Raph and Donnie nodded and they shoved all the Foot into the chamber. They then went off exploring the Temple, seeing the different rooms of the training facility and seeing if there was any comfortable sleeping space

Meanwhile, back in the centre hall, Mikey was looking up into Yuzuro's eyes. He could clearly see Yuzuro, but everything else was blurred.

_Why am I so dazed? Is it because of those convulsions I have been apparently having? Well, the only way I am gonna snap out of it is if I try my hardest. Damn, trying my hardest will NOT WORK. Man I hate altitude sickness._

"Mikeranjero. Watashi wa, anata ga watashi no koe ni shūchū suru hitsuyō ga arimasu. Watashi ga hanashite iru kotoba ni mimiwokatamukeru. Kame o shūchū." Yuzuro calmly said to Mikey, as he saw the cloud and fog being to evaporate from Mikey's eyes

_Wait, did he just talk in ancient Japanese? How do I even understand what he said? Does he expect me to reply? What the shell is going on._

Suddenly Mikey felt a bright light cover his entire eyes from corner to corner, and he gasped at the sudden white light that engulfed his vision. It took a few minutes before his vision cleared and he could clearly see things in his peripheral vision, as well as the worried but calm face of Yuzuro above him.

"Yuzuro! Anata no musata arigatogozaimasu!" Mikey replied as he jumped straight up from his position on the ground. All of a sudden, he felt great. He no longer felt sick, dizzy and breathless. He finally felt back to normal again!

"There is no need to talk in Japanese Kame Michelangelo, but you are very welcome. You may be wondering how I managed to bring you back from that dazed state you seemed to be in." Yuzuro paused as he acknowledged the face that Mikey was pulling. It was clear that Mikey was confused as to how he ended up in that state in the first place, and how he managed to get out of that weird state. "In a nutshell Michelangelo, your convulsions caused your brain to go foggy, as it was still trying to connect with your body. That's why you felt dazed, confused and saw those beautiful colours swirling past you. However, by use of ancient Japanese chanting and Chi channelling, I was able to reconnect your brain back to your body, whilst in the process cure you of your altitude sickness which seemed to be hindering your physical and mental state so severely." Yuzuro finished and placed his hands on Mikey's shell, who was still trying to process the information he just heard. He stared straight into Mikey's soul, which made him shiver a bit. Mikey wasn't used to such deep Chi channelling, and was very surprised at how skilled Yuzuro was. Mikey merely nodded and stood up. He then bowed before Yuzuro and made his way to the door. Before he could take his first step however, Yuzuro grabbed his wrist and spun him round. He then placed something cold and shiny into Mikey's hand, and closed Mikeys hand around the mysterious object

"I want you to have this, Kame Michelangelo. It's the golden amulet of my ancestors. I have seen many great qualities since I have met you Kame, and I fear that you are not recognised for the obvious talent you possess. I need you to wear this amulet every time you go into battle. If you are struggling or need help, just focus all your mental energy into the amulet and it will transform your chi energy into a physical form, which you can use to defeat your enemies. It will show your true potential until you can manage to perform Chi channelling without the amulet. Show it to your Sensei when you get home, and he will explain further if you are confused. This amulet is basically to get you started on learning chi channellment like a champion. Go Kame Michelangelo, and stay safe. Remember, I will always be with you in spirit." Yuzuro explained and closed his eyes. Mikey then bowed before him and quietly made his way to the door. When he got outside the central hall he unclasped his fingers and studied the amulet.

"Woah, dude this is radical!" Mikey exclaimed as he studied the amulet. It had flat back, with a curved gold front. It had many carvings of the Japanese dragon symbols, and many Japanese symbols were carved into it. From his basic knowledge of Japanese, one of the bigger symbols represented Chi. Mikey smiled and he put the amulet into his belt pocket as he walked around the vast Temple trying to find his brothers.

_Yuzuro thought I was something special? Huh, makes a difference to what my brothers tell me. And there was me thinking Leo was the most gifted of all of us. I can't believe Yuzuro wants me to learn the Dragon Fury Move! Thats gonna be hard as shell, and I will have to keep it quiet that I am learning it. Now that I have permission to learn it I am able to learn it i suppose. I just still don't believe why Yuzuro chose me!_

Suddenly Mikey's eyes rolled up into the back of his head and he collapsed on the floor with a painful thud, which alerted his brothers from their sleep. They ran into the corridor where they saw Mikey, unconscious on the floor.

"MIKEY!" They all screamed and hurtled towards their unresponsive brother.

_"Woah, what the shell just happened?" Mikey said to himself as he looked around him. He then quickly realised where he was and sighed. "The spiritual realm? How am I here?"_

_"Michelangelo, I had to talk to you urgently." A voice could be heard echoing through the still air_

_"Yuzuro?" Mikey asked as he scanned his surroundings. There was no sign of Yuzuro._

_"Yes Kame, it is me. I feared you were doubting why I chose you out of your brothers to take the amulet and have my permission to channel Chi. I was hoping you could just accept the fact that you are the better choice to learn the move, but now I have realised that with all your goofing off in training you don't see yourself as the most natural athlete of your brothers. Well, Mikey, let me into your mind and I shall explain._

_Mikey nodded and let Yuzuro into his mind. They sat down next to each other and began to talk._

"WHAT THE SHELL! DONNIE WAKE HIM UP OR SUMMIN!" Raph yelled as he began panicking

"STOP YELLING RAPHAEL I'M TRYING!" Donnie retorted and snarled at Raph, before going back to shaking Mikey and touching various pressure points on his neck.

"Why d-d-did you c-choose me? W-what" Mikey mumbled in his sleep as he tossed and turned

"Mikey?" Donnie asked as he stared at his oldest brother Leonardo. Leo was deep in thought, until a light bulb appeared in his brain.

"Guys! I got it, he is being contacted on the spiritual plain! Thats why he collapsed! I learned this with the Ancient One!" Leo exclaimed, obviously happy that it was nothing serious, meanwhile Don and Raph just stared at his quizzically. "He will wake up when he is finished speaking with the person who is spiritually contacting him. All we have to do is wait." Leo sighed and put his hand on Donnie's shoulder. "He's in no danger. Relax Don, everything will be just fine." Leo comforted Don and gave Don a massive smile. Don returned the favour and a smile crossed his confused and panicked face. Even Raph beamed slightly to himself as he looked out the window of the Temple over the sun setting behind the mountains.

_This has been one hell of a trip. I cannot WAIT to tell Sensei about it. _

Raph sighed and sat with his brothers. He was right, this trip had been one hell of ride, one that none of the brothers would forget. However , the journey was far from complete, and they all realised this as they waited for Mikey to wake up. They were running out of time.


	7. Understanding Why

**Sorry for the extreme lateness of posting this chapter! But without further ado, I give you the next installment in the intrepid adventure of the turtles through Japan!**

**-libbzyol **

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_Thank you Yuzuro. I now understand why you chose me. _

_You are very welcome Kame Hamato Michelangelo. Now I believe I should leave you now, your brothers are pretty worried. And, it's morning now and you Kame should be heading off down the mountain. Your Leonardo is beginning to suffer from the altitude sickness, even though he is not letting on his suffering._

_Okay. Goodbye, Master. Until we meet again_

_Yes Kame. Until we meet again_

Mikey then bolted upright awake and noticed his brothers had fallen asleep around him. He carefully began to pack up his and his brothers stuff and prepare it for when they woke up. Once he had finished preparing for their journey down the Dake, he sat back down and studied the amulet once more. Now that he understood why he had been chosen, he could only feel a fantastic sense of pride and happiness that Yuzuro had chosen him as the more talented brother. Mikey smiled. He felt on top of the world. He was quickly snapped out of his thoughts when he heard his brothers stirring next to him. He immediately hid the amulet from his brother's vision and looked round to Leo, who was the first to wake up.

"Mikey! You are awake." Leo muttered as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He sat up and crawled over to Mikey. "Who was contacting you bro? I know exactly what happened."

Mikey sighed. There was no hiding secrets from Leonardo. "It was Yuzuro Leo. Yuzuro wanted to speak to me."

"About what?"

"About this." Mikey held out the amulet in his hands, which made Leo gasp.

"The Kanimuso Amulet of Fallen Warriors? Mikey! Who gave you this?" Leo nearly broke out into a panic.

"Leo, I will tell you. How about we go for a walk? Those two won't be up for at least another hour." Mikey assured Leo and helped him up. Mikey then put the amulet over his head and wore it as they walked out of the Temple and to the Summit of the mountain. The walk was is silence until they reached the summit.

"It's beautiful." Leo exclaimed as he looked around him. The sun was just rising over the mountains in the distance, giving the sky a crystal blue colour with a dash of yellow behind the snow covered mountains. The air was fresh and pure, and the only audible sound that could be heard was the sound of the brothers breathing in and out.

"Look Leo." Mikey broke the silence and gazed into Leo's eyes with his crystal blue eyes, which matched the sky above them. "Yuzuro gave me that amulet and told me that I was the one who deserved it. Like I didn't believe it at first, because I thought that of all people it would be you. But it wasn't, he wanted me to have it." Mikey paused as he saw Leo's face. Leo hurt, knowing that Mikey was chosen instead of him, but at the same time he felt super proud of his youngest brother. Maybe this new amulet would convince Mikey he should train more.

"That's fantastic Mikey, But I've gotta be honest. I am hurt that I wasn't the one chosen by Yuzuro, but he does know best. After all, he is a Ninjitsu Master. I guess you and Yuzuro have a special relationship which accounts for some of it. But Mikey, listen to me. I always knew you had it in you. You are the most naturally talented athlete of us all, and if you trained more I am certain you would be better than all of us, including Sensei. You are gifted Mikey, and I am so proud of you." Leo paused when he saw Mikey still expressionless, staring straight into his eyes. "Have I missed something?" Leo asked, which made Mikey snap out of his trance.

"Yeah, well, I have been permitted to begin learning how to channel chi and do the move, Dragon Ball Fury." Mikey replied, and stared over at the sunrise in the distance. He didn't know how Leo would react to this new information, so he didn't want to look at his eldest brother.

"Mikey, look at me." Leo answered and Mikey felt the authority in his voice, so he turned to face his brother. "Mikey, you don't have to be afraid of how I have reacted to this news. I think it's fantastic that you have been chosen for this. You will bring honour to our family. And sure, I am a bit jealous that I still haven't been permitted to channel chi, but I'll get over it. You are my brother, and nothing will ever come between us. Hey, remember when you were doing that Battle Nexus Rematch and I brought you up to a mountain similar to this one?" Leo asked and Mikey slowly nodded. "Remember what I said? If one of us goes down, we all go down. I meant it Mikey. We are brothers. Together forever yeah?" Leo finished and Mikey nodded slowly. Leo then pulled Mikey into a warm embrace, before he quickly pulled away as the pain in his head went to breaking point. He had been trying to control it through meditation but it had got too much to handle. He doubled over in pain, which alarmed Mikey, until he remembered that Leo was suffering from altitude sickness.

"Come on bro. Let's get you down from here and back to the others." Mikey whispered and Leo nodded. Mikey gently pulled Leo to his feet, and draped one of Leo's arms around his shoulders. "And Leo? Not a word of this to Raph or Don. It is between me, Yuzuro, you and Master Splinter. Okay?" Mikey asked, with a hint of fear in his eyes. Leo sensed the fear and he nodded without hesitation. Mikey then relaxed slightly and they leisurely made their way down to the Temple. When they got there though, their brothers were standing by the door they had exited through, and had their arms crossed. They were also tapping their toes in frustration, and they glared at Leo and Mikey.

"And where exactly have YOU TWO BEEN!" Raph yelled, obviously angry and frustrated

"Yeah guys! You have been gone nearly an hour! Are you secretly Houdini? 'Cuse even THAT wouldn't be an excuse." Donnie huffed and picked up Leo and Mikey's backpacks and handed them to the brothers. They smiled at Donnie who just grunted, and began to lead the way out of the Temple. Before they left, Mikey said something in Japanese and touched the walls of the Temple. He didn't know why he did it, but he felt like he almost had to!

"Come on shell fer brains!" Raph yelled and he pulled the tails of Mikeys headband away from the Temple. The turtles were now on the home stretch, which meant they were finally nearing the end of their journey, and finally nearing New York City.


End file.
